Electronics Manufacturing Technical Articles

Papers and articles related to SMT, PCB & EMS industry.

648 SMT / PCB Technical Articles

Times are tough! Sales are down around the globe and it's getting more and more difficult to make a buck in the electronics industry. We all now have our cell phones and our big HD TV Screen at home so little of our materialistic world is unsatisfied. So how do we keep the doors open in 2009, let alone assure our future in the 21st Century?...

Whataboutquality provides a full spectrum of business process improvement solutions. We can solve a specific issue, help you map out your organization, it's key processs in order to find opportunities and solutions.

This paper describes a new approach to drying circuit board assemblies that significantly reduces the cost of ownership of an aqueous cleaning system. Drying performance is increased through a hybrid drying process that reduces energy input, exhaust requirements and sound levels. The combination of high temperature blow-off and convection brings the flexibility to tailor drying performance to fit the product's drying requirements....

Over the last 10 years, the adoption of wafer-level packaging (WLP) has expanded to a wide range of semiconductor devices applied in a crosssection of industries from Automotive to Mobile Phone, Sensors to Medical Technology....

Siemens Corporation is a U.S. subsidiary of Siemens AG, a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, operating in the industry, energy, healthcare, and infrastructure & cities sectors.

Tin-silver-copper has received much publicity in recent years as the lead-free solder of choice. SAC305 was endorsed by the IPC Solder Value Product Council in the United States as the preferred option for SMT assembly; most assemblers have transitioned to this alloy for their solder paste requirements. The SAC305 alloy due to its 3.0% content of silver is expensive when compared to traditional 63/37 for this reason many wave assemblers are opting for less costly options such as tin-copper based solders for their wave, selective and dip tinning operations....

To prevent malfunctions in high-power electronics, flux residues must be removed from flip chip components prior to subsequent processes. As a result, integrating a suitable cleaning application into the manufacturing process of flip chip components is often required. Solvent based applications have re-emerged, and with that, an overall process solution is necessary....

Recent technology advancement has enabled enhancement in PWB electrical performance and wiring density. These innovations have taken the form of improved materials, novel PWB interconnect structures, and manufacturing technology. One such advancement is Z-axis conductive interconnect. The Z-interconnect technology involves building mini-substrates of 2 or 3 layers each, then assembling several mini-substrates together using conductive paste....

DfR Solutions has world-renowned expertise in applying the science of Reliability Physics to electrical and electronics technologies, and is a leading provider of quality, reliability, and durability (QRD) research and consulting for the electronics industry.

Unless you've been living under a rock the past several years, you are no doubt keenly aware of the global drive toward alternative energy sources. Certainly this initiative is attractive because of the clear environmental benefits of developing fossil fuel substitutes, but also because of potential economic benefit. Although fuel cell technology has been proven viable for various applications, the production costs still remain relatively high, and further process development to promote low-cost, high-volume manufacturing is required to reach a price point that encourages widespread consumer acceptance....

Flame retardants have been around since the Egyptians and Romans used alum to reduce the flammability of wood. Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) first experienced use after World War II as the substitution of wood and metal for plastics and foams resulted in materials that were much more flammable. The widespread use of BFRs initiated in the 1970s with the explosion of electronics and electrical equipment and housings. For the US market, all of these products must conform to the UL 94 flammability testing specifications. In fact, the most common printed circuit board (PCB) in the electronics industry, FR-4, is defined by its structure (glass fiber in an epoxy matrix) and its compliance to UL 94 V0 standard....

DfR Solutions has world-renowned expertise in applying the science of Reliability Physics to electrical and electronics technologies, and is a leading provider of quality, reliability, and durability (QRD) research and consulting for the electronics industry.

This paper presents the analysis from a recent printing study employing a test vehicle that includes components such as 01005s to QFPs. In a recent publication, part of this study was presented focusing on 01005 printing only. This printing process was determined to be suitable for 01005s assembly and also analyzed based on statistical capability. The current paper will present the results from additional detailed analysis to determine if this process has the capability to provide sufficient solder paste deposits for larger components located on the same test board. In the future, the SMT industry may always look towards “Broadband Printing” as an alternative to dual stencil or stepped stencil printing technologies in order to meet the needs of both small and large components....